The World - News from April 12, 1989

An adviser to Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir was indicted on charges of soliciting and taking bribes to grant political favors. Michael Dekel, 69, Shamir’s adviser on Jewish settlement in the occupied areas, was accused of exploiting his post as deputy agriculture minister in 1984 to help real estate dealers get approval to build West Bank settlements. In return for his influence, Dekel allegedly asked them to contribute to the Likud Party’s 1984 election campaign. The indictment said they donated more than $100,000. The Israeli news agency Itim said the indictment alleges that a meeting, in which Dekel and an aide solicited funds, took place in the prime minister’s office with the participation of Shamir. It did not, however, implicate the prime minister.